Adding Lodging
Interactive's Guest Review System to a hotel's website
gives owners and operators control
over their online reputations while updating
content and monitoring social media channels
will help properties put their
best foot forward

Parsippany, N.J. — Sept. 6, 2012
— A
recent article
in USA Today reports that
hotel guest
satisfaction has dropped to its lowest level in seven years, noting
that
check-in and check-out, guestrooms, food, Internet/WiFi fees, and
facilities
such as pools and business centers top the list of travelers' dislikes.
ABC News also reported
that how a person books their hotel stay
may also be related to their satisfaction. In Hotels
with Highest, Lowest Guest Satisfaction, Travel
& Lifestyle Editor Genevieve Shaw Brown wrote that "guests who book
their hotel stay with online travel agencies (Orbitz, Expedia and
competitors)
tend to be less satisfied with their stay then those who book directly
with the
hotel web site or over the phone. These travelers tend to be more
price-sensitive, have lower levels of satisfaction with their stay, are
less
loyal to hotel brands and tend to report more problems."

The
underlying message for hoteliers is twofold: 1) If you don't take
direct
control of your guest reviews NOW, chances are the comments they post
will not
only turn travelers off, it could keep them away. 2) It's time to
refresh your websites because
enticing travelers to book directly on your website will improve your
chances
of having satisfied customers, thereby increasing your chances of
receiving
positive reviews.

"It only takes one unhappy guest to
post a bad review, then the company's reputation is damaged, which in
turn
effects their sales," said DJ Vallauri, Founder and President of Lodging Interactive, an
award-winning, interactive and social
media marketing agency exclusively servicing the hospitality industry.
"Today travelers have no problem telling the world what they like --
and
more importantly, don't like -- about their hotel experience. Knowing
how easy
the Web and social media has made it for consumers to find their
voices,
hoteliers should be fearful to create an atmosphere whereby a negative
review
can even occur. Those hotel companies that have been identified in
recent
reports by travelers as providing below average service need to act --
and
quickly -- to salvage their reputations and restore faith in their
patrons."

Lodging Interactive has
established a Guest
Review System for hotels that alerts management
in real time when reviews are posted to their web sites. This ensures
there are
no delays in communication, and the appropriate staff can immediately
fix any
pending problems before the customer leaves the property or has the
opportunity
to post negative reviews on third-party websites. Additionally,
consumers can share their guest
reviews on their Facebook wall and to their network of friends. Hotels
are
notified in real-time of new guest reviews and have the ability to
validate
guest stay information before reviews are posted on their website.

"Negative
reviews will happen; no matter how stellar the hotel's reputation,
someone will
find something to complain about -- even if it's a competitor posting a
fraudulent review," Vallauri said. "The key to containment comes with
responding immediately to the post and flipping the negative experience
into a
positive -- preferably before the guest has even left the property.
Equally
important is responding in an appropriate manner. Be thankful,
polite, and respectful of guests, even if the complaint is not
warranted. Remain
calm and always be courteous. Tell the guest how the situation will be
addressed and what the next steps are. Tell the guest that
you deem the complaint to be serious, and that there is a plan in place
to resolve
the matter. More importantly, give him or her a way to stay in touch
with management,
and invite further feedback."

Hotels
can quickly and cost-effectively add Lodging Interactive's low-cost,
turn-key
Guest Review System in about 10 minutes. All that is required
for a hotel to get up-and-running is a snippet of code inserted on the
hotel's Website.
Once initiated, managers can immediately begin collecting real-time
reviews on
their own websites and respond to customer concerns in real time. In
addition, the company is staffed
to reply on the hotel's behalf if staffing is an issue.

But
wait, there's more . . .
Hotels
needing to update their websites to provide fresh content and simplify the
direct booking process can actually receive the Guest Review System
absolutely
FREE!

"Adding guest reviews to a hotel's
website is critical for business success today, but if the website
isn't fresh
-- featuring new, visually appealing photos and links to social media
channels
to ensure more chatter -- owners and operators are just compounding the
problem," Vallauri said. "Lodging Interactive's Hotel Website
Solutions program enables hoteliers to refresh their web site every two
years,
at no additional cost, and we'll throw the Guest Review System in at no
additional cost."

Included in the Hotel Website Solutions
package is:

RFPLink group lead capture and reporting

Online analytical reporting

Homepage call-to-action tile images

Website Hosting and Server Management

Robust Content Management, and

Guest Review System at no additional cost.

"It's important
for hoteliers to know that they can easily and affordably take control
of their
reputations by simply and affordably updating their Web sites and
adding a
Guest Review through Lodging Interactive," Vallauri said. "Hotel
companies that have been ranked as providing below
average satisfaction to guests can easily boost their credibility,
restore
consumer confidence, and regain lost business from third-party review
sites."

Lodging
Interactive has identified the following five ways for hoteliers to
interact
with their guests and prospects and better grow and manage their use of
online
marketing and social media channels for 2013 and beyond:

Keep Your Hotel’s Website "Fresh" by updating websites at
least every two years

Take Control Of Your Hotel’s Guest Reviews by adding review
functionality to your web site

Invest in Mobile Marketing

Enhance your presence on all social media channels

Manage our online reputation by monitoring chatter

To better understand the benefits of
these Top 5 must-haves for successful online and social-media
marketing, click here
for
details.

About
Lodging Interactive
Lodging Interactive, headquartered in Parsippany,
NJ, is an award winning leading provider of Internet Marketing Services
to the hospitality,
spa and restaurant industries. The company provides a portfolio of
effective
hotel Internet marketing services to hundreds of hotels, resorts,
ownership
properties, spas and restaurants. Clients include branded hotels from
nearly
every major brand as well as prestigious, landmark independent hotels.

Through its CoMMingle
Social Media Marketing Agency operating division, the Company
offers hospitality focused and fully
managed outsourced hotel social media marketing customized solutions.
Lodging
Interactive is an award winning interactive marketing agency and has
been
recognized as a leader by the International Academy of Visual Arts,
Interactive
Media Awards, Web Marketing Association and Travel Weekly’s Magellan
Awards.

Lodging Interactive is a proud supporter of the
Hotel Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and a
proud
member of the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. (AAHOA). For more
information
contact Richard Walsh, Vice President of Business Development at sales@lodginginteractive.com
or at 877-291-4411.
The company’s website is located at www.LodgingInteractive.com